I've tried a number of waxes, including Johnson's, Trewax, Renaissance, Howard's Feed-N-Wax, and now Meguiar's Gold Class Carnuba Wax.

Howard's Feed-N-Wax is an excellent product. It does not impart a high gloss to wood, but instead imparts a very nice soft glow. It is not the most transparent wax available, but perhaps more so than Johnson's or Trewax. I prefer it on those guns of mine that do not have a high gloss finish, but instead have a more satin like oil finish. Really works well. It does require quite awhile to dry - 20 minutes - before buffing, and then I let it dry overnight before mounting the stock to my cheek, lest I rub some off. As I said, an excellent product that will always have a home on my bench.

Trewax and Johnson's are perhaps the least transparent of the group I've tried. That is, application does not allow you so see into the depths of the grain like the others. Johnson's gives a more muted finish. Personally, I don't really care for it. Trewax gives a very, very high gloss, perhaps the highest of the group. Not bad, if that's what you're looking for, especially for the price.

Renaissance Wax is expensive, and as a prior poster noted, dries very, very quickly. Not to be applied and then wait 5 minutes before buffing like some of the other waxes! Put it on, and then as soon as its on, buff it off. Still can be somewhat difficult to buff and entirely remove. But, once on, it stays. And, most importantly, is extremely transparent, and allows you to really see into the depth of the grain. Puts a nice shine/gloss on the wood too. And my experience this fall/winter was that with repeated use, the transparency and gloss continued to grow, and the protection continued to build and last. It has been my product of choice for oil finished stocks having a gloss finish.

I've recently tried Meguiar's Gold Class Carnuba Wax. It is a moderately priced paste wax in the automotive section at Walmart. Read about it on this site or a similar one. So far, I've been really impressed. Goes on easily, buffs out very easily. High gloss, and also very, very transparent. Also seems to last once applied. Much less expensive than Ren Wax, and now may be a very viable alternative.

So, those are my experiences, for what they're worth. Your mileage may vary. Good luck.

Thanks for the feedback on Renaissance clayshard2. And thanks Tom for the extra trouble you went to explaining Renaissance and several alternatives. I think I'll look for Meguiar's Gold Class Carnuba Wax. That, and the Howard's both sound promising.

I found out about Renaissance Wax on Head-fi.com. It is a headphone forum. Those guys over there are nutz about the stuff. They use it on headphones that cost upwards to $5,000-$10,000 a pair. I've used it on my wood headphones, great stuff.

Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2007 8:28 pmPosts: 2028Location: The Great North West

I use it on everything. Bought one of the small jars about 5 years ago and it's only about 1/2 gone as it takes so little to do the job. Never found anything as good as it. yes, it dries fast, but I like the rub it on, whipe it off and be done with it. Never use oil on the outside of my gun, not even the metal. Water just beads up and runs off. Expensive when you look at the cost per oz, but if when you look at the per use cost, quite cheap IMO.

I use it on everything. Bought one of the small jars about 5 years ago and it's only about 1/2 gone as it takes so little to do the job. Never found anything as good as it. yes, it dries fast, but I like the rub it on, whipe it off and be done with it. Never use oil on the outside of my gun, not even the metal. Water just beads up and runs off. Expensive when you look at the cost per oz, but if when you look at the per use cost, quite cheap IMO.

What Jeff said.

Been using it for several years on everything from vintage shotguns to carry pistols. A little goes a long way - I'm still on my first can. Very pleased with how well it protects both wood and metal from rain and sweat. No more worries about oil soaking into wood or rubbing off on clothes. And it gives both blued metal and wood a nice satiny glow.

There are some experiments you can find online, where people treat steel samples with various oils and waxes and then leave them outside for a few weeks, or spray them with salt water. Waxes do not fare well in these informal tests. I'm not sure what to make of this. It is revealing, but not representative of my firearm usage.

All I know for sure is that over the decades I have hunted in the rain many times, and sweated on guns many times, and as long as I dry them and wipe them down afterwards, I have never had a problem with rust.

My only legitimate rust problems so far have been with long-term storage. I take a gun I haven't used in a long time out of the safe and find a fingerprint immortalized in the bluing or something. I have had this occur several times with guns wiped down with oil, but never with guns buffed with wax.

Last edited by Oblio13 on Mon May 07, 2018 8:11 am, edited 1 time in total.